Parents rejoice over daughter's miracle
Darah Hansen, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, March 13, 2008
A midnight flight from Ottawa to Vancouver delivered something of a
miracle to Surrey couple Jacky and Tom Telder.
There she was, the Telders' youngest child, Leah, walking towards
them in the airport lobby late Monday amidst the disembarking
passengers, grinning and waving a greeting.
"That was amazing. She walked off. ... I mean, there she was,
actually walking," said Jacky of the moment.
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Leah Telder, 24, has seen great improvements in her health since she
had a stem cell transplant aimed at curbing her multiple sclerosis.
Last October, she became the 17th -- and youngest -- MS patient in
Canada to have the procedure.
Ian Smith, Vancouver Sun
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Font:****Months earlier Leah, 24, had taken a similar flight, in the
opposite direction.
That time, she was among the last to board the plane, hobbling
unsteadily on a walker like an old woman.
The multiple sclerosis that has afflicted her since her teens had, by
that point, robbed her of most of her independence, blurring her
vision, muddling her thinking and sapping her strength.
"It was hard to use a knife and fork to even cut my own food," Leah
said.
At its worst, the disease -- a highly unpredictable auto-immune
disorder -- had rendered the former ballet dancer temporarily
confined to a wheelchair, unable to stand on her own two legs.
"Her body just fell apart," said her mother.
Hope for Leah came last October, when she became only the 17th -- and
the youngest -- MS patient in Canada to undergo a stem cell
transplant specifically aimed at curbing the progress of the disease.
Two weeks earlier, she'd checked into the Ottawa Hospital to take
part in an experimental medical study, led by Ontario neurologist Dr.
Mark Freedman and Dr. Harold Atkins, a bone marrow transplant
specialist.
Like the patients before her, Leah was required to undergo heavy
doses of chemotherapy -- enough to completely wipe out her immune
system and cause her shoulder-length hair to fall out in chunks.
Twice, she endured an uncomfortable six-hour procedure that saw her
strapped to a chair, unable to even flinch, as a team of specialists
carefully siphoned stem cells from her blood.
"If she moved even a little, alarms would beep," said Jacky of the
extremely delicate procedure.
The stem cells were then sent to a laboratory where they
were "cleaned" before being pumped back into her body.
The theory behind the $4-million study is that the pure stem cells
will find their way into the bone marrow and build up a new immune
system in the patient, free of MS.
To date, 17 patients from across the country, including three from
B.C., have been accepted to take part in the trial, which began in
2001 and is funded by the MS Scientific Research Foundation.
Qualifying patients are all between the ages of 18 and 50 and have
either failed conventional MS drug therapy, or like Leah, been too
sick to ever begin conventional treatment. Patients must show a rapid
progression of the disease, yet must still have enough strength to
walk, at least with a cane.
Study coordinator Marjorie Bowman said early results of the trial --
which aims to treat 24 patients in total -- will be published this
summer.
According to Bowman, one patient died as a result of the chemotherapy
(which is so strong, patients have a one in 20 chance of dying). Of
the 16 living patients, three have reported some progression of the
disease since undergoing treatment, while the remaining 13 have
experienced improvements in their health.
Leah is lucky enough to be in the latter category.
"I haven't felt this good since before I was diagnosed," she said in
an interview from her Surrey home, her first trip back to B.C. since
beginning treatment.
She can walk on her own again and talk without difficulty. She can
make herself a cup of coffee -- something she hasn't been able to do
since she was 21.
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Font:****And though nerves in her right eye have been irrevocably
damaged by the disease, the majority of her vision has been restored
and she looks forward to returning to work some day soon.
Leah's lively personality is back too, said her mother.
"Leah always had a bit of an attitude and it was gone for a while,
and that was sad," she said. "Now she is herself again."
Leah plans to spend three weeks in Surrey before heading back east
for the final leg of the trial. In order to take part in the study,
she had to commit to living in Ottawa for an entire year as
researchers continue to monitor her progress.
She lives in a Rotary Club-run hotel that caters to hospital patients
and their families.
Leah continues to take medications to boost her immune system, and
goes to the hospital once a month as an outpatient.
To date, her recovery has proven remarkable, even to the physicians
leading the study.
At the end of a recent appointment, Leah noted one doctor told
her: "I just wanted to tell you that, yes, you do still have MS, but
no one would be able to tell."
dahansen@png.
http://www.canada.
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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